FIFTEEN

My handsome 15 year old!

OK .. so fifteen sounds really old!!  How can I be a mom of a 15 year old?  Andrew continues to amaze us with his kind heart, sense of humor and love for his family.  Couldn't be any luckier of a mom with this teenager around.  Lets see -- he is pushing 6'4" right now (and can I remind you he is 15 so there is still a lot of growing to do!).  When trying to think about what he would like for his birthday (he is very low maintenance!), first thing that popped into my head was food!!  So, 15 gift cards later for food, and the birthday gifts were done!!

I took him the day of his birthday to get his driver's permit.  He was very motivated to do the online course and get everything set up to get his permit.  It was really fun taking him out of school and doing this with him.  I try to cherish all these milestones, because I know how quickly they pass by.  Thanks for making me a mom, Andrew.  You are a dream!!

His permit picture looks like he did when he was in first grade!! Still a baby face!

Mom was too nervous to let him drive home from the license branch.  Dad let him drive later in the day!

How long will it take him to eat through these??

Bye, bye braces

Another one through braces ... phew! Only 3 more to go.  Growing up fast ....

BEFORE

AFTER

FBVA Year Two

Matthew joined up with a FBVA team last minute when a group of kids from his Pop Warner team were looking for a few more players.    They ended up finishing 2nd in the league and he had a great time.  He definitely excelled in defense and rebounding - using his aggressive football skills.  So glad he decided to play.  Low pressure, exercise and hanging out with friends.  Perfect!!

President's Day 2012

First grade did a big President's Day celebration and singing performance.  Didn't get a lot of pictures, but captured a few cute ones!!

Valentines Day 2012

My only Valentine that wanted a picture!!

Happy Valentine's Day from Team Kane

The days of homemade valentines dinner complete with heart shaped meatloaf, brownie sundaes are gone ... thank goodness Papa Murphy's sells heart shaped pizzas!!

Our VD card from the kiddos!! Love it!!

William made a big hug for Mrs. Hickey and Becker!!

Beautiful in Blue

Wow ... Katie looked absolutely beautiful at her Valentine's Day dance.   Alisha, Claudia, Taylor and Katie met at our house for pictures before Mrs. Everitt drove them to the dance.  I thought they all looked lovely (and most important, appropriate).  These girls are so fun loving and have such a great sense of humor.  It is nice for girls this age to be down to Earth and no so into themselves!!  The dance was really fun .. .wish I had more pictures from the actual dance, but that would be too embarrassing.  Me running around the dance with my camera ... Katie would be mortified.  

Could they be any prettier??

You have to do the standard on the stairs picture!!

Lovely look ladies ...

At the dance!  See Andrea peeking over the top?

Another pose ... do these girls take a bad picture?

Proud Parents ... a little fuzzy!!

Diner Dash

Best roller coaster group, EVER!!  Nothing like doing a big project with your besties (and some of you mom's great friends too!).  This roller coaster project was smooth sailing!!  The girls received the era of the 50s and went right to the diner idea.  They constructed a diner counter complete with stools, props, menus all supporting their roller coaster.  This was very hands off for the parents because they girls planned so well!!!  It was really fun watching through this process and very, very stress free (a little different than when Andrew did Manifest Destiny - granted that was a bit harder of an era!).  I think the girls received a 100 on this - does not surprise me.  This 8th grade year with Katie just keeps getting better!!

Under construction

Cool decor!

Another Milestone

 Both Julia and William learned to ride their 2 wheelers on the same day!!  Maybe a bit of sibling rivalry because William got it on the 2nd try and Julia got a bit upset.  She calmed down, jumped back on, and away she went.  Another milestone with this big family!! So fun to learn to ride in our new neighborhood - big wide streets with no one around.  And the Florida bonus - learning to ride in the middle of February - IN SHORTS!!  They have been riding for hours every since.

Puerto Rico Gran Prix

We traveled to Puerto Rico again this year for Katie's volleyball.  Sean and I both chose to do this trip with her.  It was really fun and even though we had been there the year before, we decided to both go again to have some R&R from the rest of the crew.  It was only a 2 day tournament, but we stayed an extra day to do a big hike in the rainforest.  We had a great, great time - took 2nd in the tourney, played some awesome volleyball, had several yummy dinners, and just enjoyed getting to know this new team and their parents.  Loved all the pictures that I took so this will be a long post!

The three amigos ... love these girls!

Good dig Kate!

Ace!

Katie, GilMary and Carly.  Katie used to play with GilMary at OVA before she moved back to PR.  Good to see her!

Boriquen Coqui and OVA - We lost to Coqui in 2 but we played hard on the final day to get to this match!!

These girls will become like sisters after spending 9 months together!

Another medal to add to the collection.  So blessed to be part of this team.

Captains, teammates, friends!

View from the Hotel

A much needed pool break after a lot of volleyball!

In the rainforest!

Sean being Sean!

Totally Katie!

Dare devils in the waterfall!